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Brian Mulroney celebrates Canadian flag

Broadcast Date: Feb. 15, 1990

Despite earlier opposition by Progressive Conservative John Diefenbaker, Tory Prime Minister Brian Mulroney celebrates the flag's 25th birthday. Mulroney says Canadians should forget about the quarrels of the past, and that the flag will never fly over a divided country. School children look on in Ottawa's cold and snow as Joseph Secours, the same man who raised the first flag on the Peace Tower 25 years ago, hoists it up today.

Brian Mulroney celebrates Canadian flag

• In 1497 John Cabot flew England's St. George's Cross in Newfoundland — one of the first European flags on Canadian soil.
• In colonial times, British law prevented subjects in the United Kingdom and abroad from flying the official Union Jack.
• The Union Jack is an amalgamation of St.George's Cross (white backdrop with bold red cross), St. Andrew's Cross (navy blue backdrop with bold white cross) and St. Patrick's Cross (white backdrop with bold red X).

Brian Mulroney celebrates Canadian flag

Medium: Television

Program: The National

Broadcast Date: Feb. 15, 1990

Guest(s): Heath MacQuarrie, John Matheson, George Stanley

Host: Peter Mansbridge
Reporter: Anna Maria Tremonti

Duration: 2:32

Last updated:
Aug. 11, 2009